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Composer: MATTHEWS, David ((b.1943)) |
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ID: CC2014
CDs: 2
Type: CD
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Subcollection: Bassoon
The 24-page CD booklet has a 6,000 word programme note in English containing the interview below, plus a detailed track-by-track description, including interviews with Gordon Langford about his arrangements and David Matthews about Toccatas and Pastorals. There are many photographs.
Jeremy Polmear talks to Catherine Smith about The Sheba Sound:
The Sheba Sound was founded in 1975 by Catherine Smith, and ran for an impressive 22 years. I asked her how it came about. "I was a freelance oboist working in London, and, to be honest, I felt that life was getting a bit repetitive. I needed a challenge, I needed to break out of the orchestral rut. I love making experiments, and exploring new areas of life.
"My starting point for the new group was two oboes, bassoon and harpsichord to play trio sonatas. I approached the oboist Deirdre Lind and the bassoonist Deirdre Dundas-Grant because they had both played in the BBC Concert Orchestra, and therefore had experience in playing all kinds of music. Neil Black [a prominent London oboist] suggested I contact the harpsichordist Harold Lester, who not only played early music with Alfred Deller, but contemporary music with Cathy Berberian and the London Sinfonietta. Our horizons were limitless. The name of the group reflects this - 'Sheba', in reference to the best-known baroque piece for two oboes, 'The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba' by Handel, - and 'Sound', being the kind of name you wouldn't use in strictly classical circles. All future members of the group shared this eclectic experience of musical styles. I am particularly grateful to the first members, who made financial sacrifices until we had established ourselves.
"As I wanted the group to be unique in every respect, I decided that we would play, if possible, unpublished Baroque music, so I spent hours and hours in libraries looking for interesting scores. Harold Lester brought his extensive knowledge of early harpsichord music, and arranged some of it; and I also wanted a more jazzy arranger. Brian Kay of the King's Singers suggested Gordon Langford, who had written beautifully for them; he wrote a Folk Song Suite for us [Kaleidoscope CD, tracks 15 -19], the first of many arrangements. Our subsequent commissions were not only contemporary serious music, but also jazz and rock.
"I decided that our presentation was very important. Our dresses were glamourous, shot silk, in bright reds, and the men had cummerbunds to match. Each work was introduced by a member of the group, which was unusual at that time. We commissioned special music stands from the furniture department of the Royal College of Art, and draped the funiture on the platform in red velvet.
"We played all over the UK, in concert halls, at music clubs and festivals, and we did regular London concerts at the Wigmore Hall. One was recorded, and is the source of several tracks on these CDs. We often worked with well-known actors such as Gabriel Woolf [The Bassoon Song, Kaleidoscope CD, track 7], Derek Jacobi, Nicolas Parsons and Spike Milligan, on whose TV programmes we appeared. We did lots of Children's Concerts too, at which the greatest success was a special story, 'The Key to the Zoo', written by humourist Miles Kington, with music by Stephen Oliver. In the story we each became an animal character, with an appropriate hat.
"We toured abroad too, especially in Germany, Italy and Arabia. In Italy they preferred to have a singer with the group, and we took people such as the contralto Margaret Cable and the tenor Christopher Underwood. We also played in Holland, and on TV in Flanders. We broadcast in the UK too - on the BBC music channel Radio 3, but I was also on the talk channel Radio 4, on 'Woman's Hour'. At the time I had three children under eight as well as my career - quite a new thing back in 1975 - and this created quite a lot of interest among the listeners, who then wanted to know what our music sounded like. This led to the BBC financing a recording, many of whose tracks appear here." |
| 29.00 eur Buy |
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ID: MSVCD92028
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Instrumental
Subcollection: Violin
Major works for solo violin by leading modern composers, a tour de force of skilful and virtuosic musicianship.
tracks: Naji Hakim: Sonata for solo violin David Matthews: Fuga Three Studies Dmitri Smirnov: Two Fugues Hans Werner Henze: Serenade Sonata for solo violin |
| 12.00 eur Buy |
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ID: NMCD021S
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Instrumental
Subcollection: Piano
Written for William Howard, Matthews's Piano Sonata draws on Howard's expertise as an interpreter of Schubert, while the 16 short sections of Powers's The Memory Room take the listener on a journey through five centuries of keyboard styles. |
| 22.00 eur Buy |
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ID: NMCD067
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Orchestral Works
Subcollection: Orchestra
Two richly dramatic orchestral scores are presented on this disc. In the Dark Time takes its title from TS Eliot's Four Quartets and reflects the turning of the seasons from winter to spring; and Chaconne, inspired by the site of a medieval battlefield. |
| 22.00 eur Buy |
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ID: NMCD069
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Orchestral Works
Subcollection: Orchestra
Both Anthony Gilbert's brilliant woodwind writing and his long association with the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester are showcased on this disc, featuring performances by the RNCM's acclaimed New Ensemble and Wind Orchestra, and concluding with the brilliant and playful tribute to Stravinsky, Igorochki. |
| 22.00 eur Buy |
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ID: NMCD075
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Chamber Music
Subcollection: Chamber Ensemble
Commissions for young and amateur musicians from The Schubert Ensemble's Chamber Music 2000 project
"Definitive performances from the Schubert Ensemble, beautifully recorded."The Strad 2001 |
| 22.00 eur Buy |
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ID: NMCD084
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Vocal Collection
Subcollection: Voices and Orchestra
Cantiga sets the tragic, bloodthirsty story of the 14th-century Spanish noblewoman Inês de Castro; Matthews Symphony No.4 subverts its classical model with plainsong and a tango.
These recordings were originally released on Unicorn-Kanchana in 1993.
Reissued with funding from Arts Council England. |
| 22.00 eur Buy |
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ID: NMCD152
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Collection: Vocal Collection
Subcollection: Voices and Chamber Ensemble
This collection of premiere recordings from David Matthews features Terrible Beauty, for mezzo-soprano and seven players, setting both Homer and Shakespeare in a dramatic depiction of Cleopatra; Winter Passions - which sets Pushkin's poems of love and absence - and Marina, a setting of TS Eliot's brooding monologue - both feature baritone Stephan Loges. The disc is completed with the Clarinet Quartet and two String Trios. |
| 22.00 eur Buy |
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ID: NMCD203
CDs: 1
Type: CD
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Subcollection: Ensemble
1.Peter Maxwell Davies: Sea Eagle I Adagio 4'05"
2.Peter Maxwell Davies: Sea Eagle II Lento 3'33"
3.Peter Maxwell Davies: Sea Eagle III Presto molto 1'30"
4.Gerald Barry: Jabberwocky 5'44"
5.Colin Matthews: Three of a Kind I Vivo 1'47"
6.Colin Matthews: Three of a Kind II Largamente 1'13"
7.Colin Matthews: Three of a Kind III Calmo 6'34"
8.Huw Watkins: Trio 12'48"
9.David Matthews: Quintet for Horn and Strings (live recording) I Andante 7'57"
10.David Matthews: Quintet for Horn and Strings (live recording) II Molto vivace 5'16"
11.Mark-Anthony Turnage: Prayer for a great man 3'57"
12.Robin Holloway: Trio for Horn, Cello and Piano I Liberamente 11'33"
13.Robin Holloway: Trio for Horn, Cello and Piano II Poco allegro 8'35"
Artists:
Richard Watkins horn
Paul Watkins cello
Huw Watkins piano
Mark Padmore tenor
The Nash Ensemble
Richard Watkins is one of the most sought-after horn players of his generation. He was Principal Horn of the Philharmonia Orchestra for twelve years, and is currently a member of the Nash Ensemble and a founder member of London Winds. Closely associated with promoting contemporary music for the horn, Richard Watkins has given premieres of concertos by Maxwell-Davies, Osborne, Lindberg, Muldowney, Lefanu, and Colin and David Matthews.
The title work on this album is Peter Maxwell Davies' solo horn piece Sea Eagle (1982). It was initially considered by many to be impossible to play but is now regarded as an essential part of the horn repertoire and is even a set-piece for the prestigious Munich Horn Competition.
Richard is joined on this recording by a stellar line-up of chamber musicians, including Paul Watkins and Huw Watkins for an unusual combination of horn, cello and piano (C Matthews & Holloway), and tenor Mark Padmore to present the unmistakable soundworld of Gerald Barry. His setting of Lewis Carroll’s famous poem Jabberwocky - which is first sung in French, with expressive legato phrases, and then repeated more forcefully in German - features some delightfully unconventional horn writing. |
| 22.00 eur Temporarily out of stock |
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